


where your heart doesn't break

by flamebirds



Series: whatever you can still betray [2]
Category: Batwoman (Comic), Green Lantern (Comics), Green Lantern Corps (Comics), Titans (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Female Friendship, Outer Space, Star Sapphires (DCU)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25961833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamebirds/pseuds/flamebirds
Summary: The stars do not dictate the life of Bette Kane. That has always been her job and when the cosmos whispered her name, promised her a destiny of green waters and resurrection, she ripped the constellations from the sky and carved a whole new destiny for herself. If she wants to rage, if she wants to be a maelstrom of emotions, if she dies by another's hand, there will be nothing celestial involved.It's her fury, her sadness, her happiness. There's nothing otherworldly about it, not cosmic machinations that dictate her fate. There's just her, crafting her own destiny, day by painful day.
Relationships: Bette Kane & Arisia Rrab, Bette Kane & Carol Ferris, Bette Kane & Yrra Cynril, Carol Ferris/Hal Jordan (implied)
Series: whatever you can still betray [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1876879
Comments: 8
Kudos: 8





	where your heart doesn't break

The stars do not dictate the life of Bette Kane. That has always been her job and when the cosmos whispered her name, promised her a destiny of green waters and resurrection, she ripped the constellations from the sky and carved a whole new destiny for herself. If she wants to rage, if she wants to be a maelstrom of emotions, if she dies by another's hand, there will be nothing _celestial_ involved.

It's _her_ fury, _her_ sadness, _her_ happiness. There's nothing otherworldly about it, not cosmic machinations that dictate her fate. There's just her, crafting her own destiny, day by painful day.

And when her eyes flicker open, when she feels lucid for what feels like the first time in forever, and somebody, a blurred figure of too grey skin, tells her to stay down, to rest, she refuses.

The blood-stained streets of Gotham are gone and all she sees now is purple, a violet light permeating her vision even with her eyes squeezed shut. She can't push it away, even as she jolts herself upwards, and it takes her a moment to realize that the light is wrapped around her, creating a costume of its own.

It's not what she last remembers wearing. There are no bird emblems on the chest, no fire-based colour scheme, only violet fabric made from light, hot against her skin, a star symbol now where her Flamebird one should be.

There's also the matter of her being alive. The very last memory she has is of the Hook; of an injury, she knows she couldn't survive, especially without getting to a hospital. This place, wherever it may be... it certainly doesn't look like any hospital that she knows.

Her gaze flickers upwards, meeting the stare of a grey-skinned woman, blue eyes shining back at her even as the first fizzle of panic dances through her. Because this woman in front of her, dressed in the same colours as Bette, with the same symbol, is decidedly _not_ human.

Bette's dealt with aliens before. There was an incident when she was younger, back in her Bat-Girl days, and then the usual team-ups she would join, the ones battling off invasions in a confusing blur. Parademons were the usual culprit, though there was a time with the Titans, with Kory and her sister.

The woman in front of her matches no alien that Bette has interacted with. She's not well versed enough in alien species, never had to be, to be able to recognize her, to even give a planet that she might have come from, that she might have brought Bette to.

Which does bring her to the next major issue: she doubts she's on the Earth. The room she's in, the bed she's lying on, all are made from materials that she doesn't recognize, and if she looks out the window, she can see a different night sky waiting for her. She knows her constellations, can trace them with her eyes closed, and she knows that those ones do not belong to planet Earth.

Okay. _Okay._ She can't freak out here. The alien is staring at her with what she hopes is a form of concern and she needs to use that. Needs to follow Kathy's advice and not show an ounce of weakness, look confident even when she's terrified. Face whatever has her scared with a smile, by acting like she knows what's going on.

If she follows her training, then maybe there's a chance she can get out of this ━━ or at least get far enough to commandeer a ship, send out a distress signal. She may not know any of the Green Lanterns personality (an invitation to Warriors opening doesn't _count,_ okay? She didn't talk to Gardner), but they'd probably be able to bring her back to Earth.

Bette lets out the breathe she's been holding in, going for the best smile she can muster. "Hi."

The alien smiles back, which she's pretty sure is a positive. "You should be resting", she says. Her voice comes out tinny, as if she's speaking through a phone, and there are moments where Bette swears her words don't match up to the movements of her lips. "Your injuries were severe."

"I feel fine", Bette argues, making sure to keep her voice as level as possible. "Just a little tired."

"You were almost dead when you arrived", the woman says, gently pushing her by the shoulder and back to the bed, "and you've been asleep for the past week."

 _"Week?"_ She echoes. A _week._ A whole _seven days_ spent on an alien planet. God, Kate's gonna be so mad when she gets back, and she's probably gonna have to deal with a lecture from Bruce, and didn't she have a Titans LA reunion? She's supposed to be in _LA_ by now, not a different _star system._

This isn't good. It wasn't particularly excellent to wake up on a foreign world after being gutted by a hook-wielding psychopath, whose voice she can still feel creeping around the recess of her mind, but having spent so long unconscious... this is gonna be bad.

"What's your name?" Bette asks her, fighting back against the familiar bubble of panic that rises in her chest. "If, like, you don't mind me asking."

"Ghia'ta." So, definitely not somebody that she knows.

"Okay, Ghia'ta", Bette says, "where, um, _are_ we? Because this sure doesn't _look_ like Earth."

Ghia'ta smiles and, okay, wow, it's a pretty smile. A little blinding, like a tiny piece of that violet light, has bled into it. 

"Zamaron", she answers, "Home to the Star Sapphires. We're near the central power battery ━━ Carol wanted you close, in case something happened."

Bette puts away that name (human name... that could be good, that could be bad, but either way, it's a sign that she could get back to Earth) and soldiers on. "Like what?"

Ghia'ta sits next to her. "You were almost dead when the ring brought you to us. It had kept you alive, but..."

"But being ripped from sternum to hip is kinda serious?" She guesses, trying for a smile.

It's strange. She knows that she should be in danger here, trapped so far away from home, but it doesn't feel that way. There's a softness in the air, the kind that calms her, soothes her into a relaxed state, like she's being wrapped in a warm hug.

Maybe she's been drugged.

"Very serious", Ghia'ta corrects, "but the love in your heart was enough to power the ring and bring you here, where we could help."

"Which I _totally_ appreciate", Bette says, "like, seriously, _really_ grateful for what you did... just wondering when I can go home?"

Ghia'ta seems confused by her words. "You haven't even completed your training ━━ how would you be able to return?"

"Well, uh, space ships were invented for a reason", she says, rising up from the bed and peering out the window. She's in some sort of settlement, a city with purple buildings going on as far as she can see. "Place like this, you gotta have _something._ You did bring me here, after all."

"Your ring brought you here", she corrects, "when you accepted love's call."

Bette blinks. "Right. My ring. That I accepted."

Ghia'ta laughs. It's not mean-spirited; more like the amusement of watching a cat be confused by the concept of glass, as if she's just witnessed something adorable. Bette's... honestly not sure how she feels about that.

But then Ghia'ta takes her hands, fingers running across a ring that Bette knows she doesn't own. And she does have a load of rings... she likes jewellery... but this is a little too _purple_ for her tastes.

Purple, just like the rest of the place. Purple, like the ring that lays on Ghia'ta's fingers. The only difference between them that she can see, is that Ghia'ta's is glowing, some sort of energy coursing through it, while Bette's seems quite dead.

"Your ring is almost out of charge", she says. "It must have taken a lot of energy, keeping you alive."

She glares at it. "You're telling me that a piece of _jewellery_ brought me to another _planet?"_

"It's not jewellery", Ghia'ta laughs. "It's your Star Sapphire ring."

"Uh-huh", she says slowly, because, well, _what the fuck?_ She doesn't ━━ Bette doesn't get caught up in any extraterrestrial stuff and on that rare occasion that she _does,_ it's never really about _her._ It's Robin or Bat-Woman or the Titans, never just Bette all on her own, and she's okay with that. She doesn't really see what she'd ever have to offer aliens.

Ghia'ta offers her a small, sympathetic smile. "I understand that this must be confusing. Most new recruits know what they're getting into, but you were... an emergency case."

"Yeah", Bette agrees, barely aware of the words spilling from her lips, "being in the middle of dying would probably do that."

"You should rest some more", she suggests, "get your strength up before you recharge your ring. The first time is... a lot to handle."

Bette shakes her head. "I need to get back to Earth. There are people there that I love, that I can't just abandon."

"You're not fully healed", Ghia'ta argues.

"I'll take a nap once I get home", she says dismissively. "Ghia'ta, please ━━ I need to get back to my family. Just point me in the direction of a ship, and I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Zamaron doesn't have any ships", she tells her. "We have no need for them."

"So I just... this ring's my only shot at getting home?"

"Once you've finished your training ━━"

Bette winces, recalling her and Kate's last conversation. "I, uh, I think I might be done with the whole training thing. Never really works out for me..."

"You need to learn how to control the ring", Ghia'ta says softly. "You have so much love in your heart, but if you don't learn, you'll never be able to use it."

"I don't ━━ I'll figure something out."

"It'll take longer", she replies, going for a different angle, "if you try to learn things by yourself. Carol and I could help you so much faster."

Bette eyes the ring on her finger with suspicion. "Do you promise?"

Ghia'ta _beams_ in response. "I promise!"

She bites her lip, but, really, what other choice does she _have_ here? She's stuck on an alien planet, lightyears away from home, with apparently no way off except for the dim gem on her ring finger.

She can't stay here, no matter how safe she feels. By this point, Kate is probably losing her mind, and since she's missed their meet-up ━━ the one she wouldn't stop talking about for months ━━ then Gar will probably be freaking out too, at this point. And, god, what if one of them finds her co━━

"Ghia'ta", Bette says cautiously, "when I... when I came here, I was wearing something different, right?"

"I'm not sure", she replies, uncertain. "Carol was the one to find you."

That's... that's good, isn't it? That's only one person that would know... also the only person so far that she thinks could be from Earth, or at least have travelled to it. Maybe if Bette's lucky, this Carol person just thinks she's some weird cosplayer with bad luck. Maybe she wouldn't connect the dots between a life-threatening injury, a Kevlar suit, and weapons no average civilian could possess.

And maybe if Bette's lucky, pigs will start flying.

"Is there any chance I can speak to Carol?"

"Once she's back", she says, "and finds out you're aware, I'm certain Carol will want to talk to you."

She feels a tiny sliver of relief. "Thank you."

"Anything for the latest Star Sapphire."

 _Star Sapphire..._ where has she heard that before? It's certainly familiar, but she can't quite place it. It's like it's on the tip of her tongue, just out of reach, and the more she tries to grab it, the further away that information gets.

She's not going to get anything done by staying here, in the same room she's apparently been in for a week. Sticking in one place for too long, especially with no movement, always make her feel stagnant, like she's about to burst from the energy within, and it makes getting work done impossible.

Bette's the sort of person that needs constant stimulation. She found it in tennis, in putting on a suit and fighting off bad guys off all kinds, but today, she's willing to look somewhere else.

"Would you mind showing me around?" She asks. "Since I'm, like, gonna be here for a while."

The mile-wide grin she gets in return nearly makes that worry she has fade away.

* * *

Whoever Carol is, she doesn't show up for the first six days that Bette spends awake, and with every one that passes, she gets more and more agitated. There's a bundle of nerves in her chest, ready to go off like dynamite, and the more she paces, the worse things get, the more her worry about the people she's left behind grows.

The worry is joined by a sense of guilt, because she isn't worrying as much as she probably _should_ be. She was terrified when she first woke up on Zamaron,but days into her stay on the planet, and she can admit that fear was for nothing. Nobody here would hurt her and with an army of super-powered badasses all around her, Bette's probably safer than she would've havbeen on Earth. Mainly because she isn't tossing herself into the face of danger every two seconds, but, well, she's sure the Star Sapphire Corp being around can only help matters.

She feels safe here, comforted by the violet light that permeates everything. She's not even sure if people would have noticed her disappearance, not really. Gar might have thought it was strange she didn't show up for the reunion, especially with how excited she was for it, but thanks to everything with Duela and Charley, Hank and Dawn, hopefully, he'll just think she decided to skip out on it this time.

And maybe it's the bitterness talking here, but Bette doesn't see Kate looking for her after their fight. Considering the things that she said.. she'd probably be happy to assume that Bette had skipped town.

"This is just getting annoying", Yrra Cynril snaps. Ghia'ta is gone... somewhere, and in her place, is another senior Star Sapphire, one that Bette is quite certain she's seen on the news before ━━ and not in a particularly good light, either.

She's refrained from saying anything about it for a multitude of reasons. Mainly, because Yrra looks like she could snap Bette in half with her pinkie, and because while her ring doesn't have enough power to create a single spark, Yrra's has placed an axe in her hands.

Bette eyes the weapon warily. "What do you suggest I do instead?"

"I might not be able to train you with your ring", she says, "but I can still see how much of a fighter you are."

"What happened to _'taking it easy'?"_

"Would you rather I leave?"

Bette scowls. "I didn't say that."

Yrra throws her an axe construct of her own. "Then fight."

She holds it in her hands, weighing it with caution. She's not exactly trained to fight with one. Escrima sticks, batons, swords, the occasional long-range weapon, yes, but _axes?_ What the hell is a vigilante supposed to do with an _axe?_

Still, when Yrra is looking at her like that, it's probably best not to question her.

"Don't worry", she says. "I'll go easy on you."

"Pinkie promise?"

Yrra merely smirks, immediately throwing herself into the fight. She moves faster than any of Bette's usual opponents, using the axe as if it's a second limb, and, honestly, if this is her going easy on somebody, she doesn't wanna know what it's like when she's actively trying to cause harm.

Bette dodges a swipe from above and goes for her own, stumbling from the weight of the weapon. It's awkward and clunky in her hands, a hindrance more than anything else, and when Yrra strikes again, Bette tosses it aside. Hand-to-hand combat is far more her speed, and it's easier to move again, to follow the familiar dance pattern of it all.

She flits from one move to another, mixing styles and changing them on a whim. The longer it goes on, the wider Yrra's grin becomes, until Bette thinks she might actually be smiling. She'd judge, but she's pretty sure she's got one of her own.

She can't help it. Even when Yrra closes in, the clearly superior fighter, it's _fun._ It reminds her of Kathy, of training with her friends, and some of the tension she's been holding in starts to bleed away, replaced by the single-minded focus the fight always brings out.

And _god,_ is the fight good. What starts out as dangerous but manageable quickly evolves, growing harder and harder, until she's barely able to duck from her attacks. It's an assessment of her skills, yes, but a well done one, that allows her to relieve some of the stress inside.

Her scar aches, but when she's more focused on glowing constructs, it's easier to ignore. This fight isn't like her last one ━━ there's no chance that she'll be injured, left for dead, because as terrifying as Yrra may be, Bette still feels safe around her.

Her glowing axe comes to rest against her neck, and Bette draws to a stop, admitting her defeat. "Got me."

"You're better than I expected", Yrra says. "You've been trained?"

She shrugs. "Took some self-defence classes on my homeworld."

She gets a sceptical look in return, but Yrra seems willing to drop the subject. Bette's thankful for that ━━ she hasn't quite figured out if she wants to tell anyone the truth, if she's even allowed to. Her identity isn't the only one that would come crawling out of the woodwork if she ever gets outed, not with how close she's been working with Batwoman. Bruce, Dick, the others, wouldn't have to worry, but it could put Kate in danger.

As mad as Bette is at her cousin (and she is mad. She can feel it, hiding beneath the surface, festering like a cancer), she refuses to put her in any unnecessary danger.

So for now, all that she's said is that she's had a few lessons back on Earth, just to keep herself safe. Doubtful that that will fly up against Carol, the one who presumably saw her costume, but Bette's always been a hopeful person. Besides, if push comes to shove, she's sure she could come up with a lie.

"You wanna go again?" Bette asks. "Maybe show me how you did that kick?"

"Later", Yrra promises. "You're still recovering."

She grimaces. "It's not that bad anymore. I can barely feel it."

"You flinched multiple times during our spar", Yrra deadpans. 

"Oh. Kinda hoped you hadn't noticed that."

"You're not that good a liar", she says. "You're welcome to your secrets, Kane."

"But I should work on my poker face?" She guesses.

"I'm not entirely familiar with that expression", she admits, "but I think so, yes."

Bette lets out a little hum of acknowledgement, starting on her stretches. She should've done some before the fight and she knows she's going to feel it later, but at least this will take out some of the sting. She can practically hear Kate berating her in her head, but then Yrra makes some comment on her form, on a way that she could improve, and her cousin's voice drifts away.

"You're too showy", Yrra tells her. "Good for a distraction, but this isn't a performance. In a fight, you might have to get a little dirty."

Stretching out her arms, Bette says, _"Showy_ is my thing, though."

"You don't have a _thing",_ Yrra says bluntly. "Usually, that's a bad thing... but you make it work. You don't follow any fighting style I've ever seen and you're unpredictable. I fell for a few of your feints."

"I don't really follow one fighting style?" Bette admits. "It's, like, a bunch thrown together. Changes on what I need."

"You should keep it that way", she says. "It'll give you an edge. A little refinement and you might be an actual threat."

There's a teasing lilt to Yrra's voice, the kind that she's utterly unused to, and Bette laughs. "Thanks for the compliment. You really know how to make a girl feel special."

"Carol's coming back today", she tells her. "I expect you'll want to see her."

"I wouldn't mind, no."

"Good", she says. "I look forward to seeing how you explain arriving here on the brink of death."

"I feel like that's an exaggeration", she says, heat flooding her cheats.

"Would you prefer mortally wounded?"

"I was actually gonna with 'I obtained an oversized papercut'."

"Mm. Well, I hope for your sake that that _papercut_ has a reasonable explanation."

"I'm sure I'll think of something."

"I hope, for your sake, that you do", Yrra says. "Carol Ferris can be... intimidating at times."

"I can totally handle it", Bette says, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "I'd probably be able to handle it a lot better if you taught me that kick."

"You don't give up easily, do you?"

"I'm stubborn to a fault", she brags. 

Yrra rolls her eyes, but purple light forms a new weapon in her hand regardless. "You need to put your whole body weight behind it", she instructs. "It won't work without force to back it up."

Bette listens with rapt attention, something a little like happiness blossoming inside her chest. Training, fighting, is something that always brings her joy, a task that she's loved for as long as she can remember. More than half her life has been spent behind a mask ━━ if she didn't adore every second of it, she would've let it fall to the wayside like every other hobby she attempted.

This is different, has always been different. Most people refused to acknowledge that, even those that were supposed to know her best _("you're not even fighting for something")_ but that doesn't mean it's not true. It doesn't mean she hasn't bled just as much as the others, hasn't watched her world go up in smoke so many times, all because she made the choice to wear a mask.

Nothing has been able to stop her from putting that mask back on, either, and when Bette looks at the way the constructs come as second nature to Yrra, the way they act as an extension of herself, a bolster to her already incredible ability, she gets the feeling that this insanity, this madness she's been dragged into, is only going to help her when she finally suits up again.

Because she _is_ going to suit up again. A single sparring session isn't enough to stop that itch beneath her skin, the one that demands she return to her roots.

She was always going to end up in a mask again. The only question now is, what colour?

* * *

Carol Ferris isn't _quite_ what Bette had expected. She's human, yes, but from the way that Yrra and Ghia'ta had talked about her, she was expecting somebody like Wonder Woman, that when she looked at her, she'd be equally terrified and inspired. She's the leader of an entire Corps, the proclaimed champion of love. Bette half expects her to be scarier than Batman could ever dream of.

That's... _not_ what happens, not who she is.

Carol comes in when she's in the middle of a series of stretches, trying to loosen up some of her sore muscles. She's a little closer to getting the kick down, but putting enough force behind it is impossible when her injuries keep flaring up. Kate could probably manage it, but Bette isn't her cousin. Either of them, really.

But that doesn't matter, because neither of _them_ have been a Star Sapphire. Bette's managed to gather the bare bones of what exactly that entails from the others; that it's another part of the emotional spectrum, the thing that powers the Green Lanterns, that it works off of love, that it's history maybe isn't the best.

Then there was the Blackest Night, the death of a queen, and a shift in management. New recruits joined, old methods were removed, and their ranks are slowly growing with the intent of protecting love all around the universe.

That's a mission that Bette can get behind. It's easier than backing Bruce's, Kate's, the Titans'. It's something that she's always believed in, that magic that lies in affection. She doesn't have to contend with anyone else to be considered valuable, either, which feels... strange, to say the least. Even if she wasn't pouring her all into training with Yrra, getting to know everybody that she runs into, she doesn't think that the Sapphires would think less of her.

It's a nice change of pace, for once.

She's pulling her leg up against her back, feeling the familiar strain of her muscles, when the leader of the Sart Sapphires finally arrives, back from some diplomatic mission on the other side of the universe.

"So", Carol says as she enters, "you finally woke up."

"Well, the whole _almost dying_ thing did make me a little tired, but yeah."

"Do you wanna talk about that?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Yes", she says, "you do. Nobody here is going to force you into anything."

Bette blinks, because ━━ because that just doesn't _happen._ "I... are you sure?"

"Positive", Carol replies, gaze flickering to the ring on her finger. "We should probably get you charged up."

"You're from Earth, right?" Bette asks, letting Carol lead her outside. Ghia'ta has already given her a quick tour of the Zamaron highlights, but Carol walks through the place with far more familiarity, like she knows it like the back of her hand. "How did you, like, end up here?"

"Long story", she sighs. "What about you? What made you want to be a Sapphire?"

She frowns, pushing down a sickly voice in her ear, putrid breathe taunting her as she tries to hold onto her life. "I... I was dying and there was this light and it was ━━ it seemed like a good idea at the time."

Carol huffs out a laugh. "It always does."

"Am I allowed to quit?" She asks. "If I don't like it, I mean."

"Nobody's gonna make you stay", Carol answers, "but give it a shot before you write it off, okay? Ghia'ta seems to think you're gonna be great at it."

"She's probably just being nice."

"Maybe", she agrees, "but Yrra probably wasn't. Heard you're pretty good in a fight."

"Yeah", she says, chuckling nervously. "I had a few self-defence classes."

"You take a class in cosplay too?" Carol asks. "Or was the costume you were wearing for something else?"

"Uh..."

"You're entitled to your secrets", she says as they get closer to the heart of Zamaron, "but I've seen what kind of an effect that life can have on people. If you need to talk about what happened..."

"I don't!" She says quickly. "Because nothing happened. Because I'm a perfectly normal person."

"Who likes to dress up as a superhero."

"Who likes to dress up as a superhero, yes. Not _that_ weird of a hobby."

Carol side-eyes her. "Oh, I'm gonna like _you."_

Bette smiles back. She likes Carol... she likes that she's not pressuring her into saying anything, because honestly? Bette doesn't know if she can.

She doesn't want to talk about how it felt to be so sure that she was going to die, talk about that certainty that she would bleed out, all alone as she usually is. It may not have happened, but the gear that had gripped her heart had been overwhelming, second only to the sadness.

She doesn't want to talk about her supposed destiny. She's been fighting against it for so long, battling against the very concept, but that doesn't mean she wants to die sooner than she's meant to. She wants to avoid it altogether, wants to grow old and die of natural causes.

She never wants somebody she once loved to be her killer. She doesn't give a damn what the universe has in store for her; if there's any chance she can avoid that future, she has to take it.

Maybe this, becoming a Star Sapphire, is it. What she saw of her future didn't involve rings or space, didn't have a sliver of violet in it. Maybe, the second she accepted that ring, she altered the course of her life.

Maybe, if she has this ring on her finger, if she joins this Corps, then Kate will finally stop thinking that she's fighting for nothing. Maybe she'll see that Bette has always had a motivation, reasoning behind her actions. Maybe she'll even _apologize._

She'd like that. It would never happen, but it's nice to dream, right?

"Do you know the oath?" Carol asks her, stopping them right in front of a looming lantern. Bette hasn't gone near the Central Power Battery of Zamaron, but she's felt it. The energy seems to pulse through the air of the planet, concentrating on their rings, on each Star Sapphire, but still a tangible thing regardless.

"Ghia'ta told me it, yeah", she replies. It's different from the one she overheard the Green Lanterns using, a far cry from the hissed mantra of the Sinestro Corps member during their attack on New York. It's softer than them both, the kind of thing that Bette would believe in with all her heart.

Which, she supposes, is the point.

"Good", Carol says, holding her arm and placing her closed fist against the lantern. "This might feel weird at first, but you'll get used to it."

"Weird, how?"

"You've gotta find that out for yourself", she says, taking a step back. She gestures for Bette to go forward, to speak the oath and power her ring.

She starts it with a whisper, still feeling some kind of uncertainty in her heart. It's insane, the idea that she got a power ring. It should've been Kate... or maybe Dick, considering the whole _love_ aspect. Nightwing would make a much better Star Sapphire than her, wouldn't he? He'd have known what was happening immediately. He wouldn't have had to accept the ring on the verge of death.

She's just _Bette._ She doesn't get caught up in things like this, always on the outside looking in. She's almost certain that she shouldn't be here, but the energy in the air makes her think otherwise. 

And with every word of the oath she utters, the stronger that energy gets. A million volts of lightning rush through her veins and her rings starts to glow brighter and brighter, the dull purple turning vibrant in seconds.

"Love conquers all with violet light", she finishes.

The words bring with them a rush completely unparalleled to anything she's ever felt before. A million butterflies flutter around her stomach, lighting up all her nerves with violet light. Everything else seems to fade to black, a pointless distraction from _this,_ this power, that flows through her. She can feel it in her heart, in her very soul, a warmth that she's never known before, didn't know she _needed._

A single oath, and Bette feels more energized than ever before. It's like she's chugged all the coffee in the world, the biggest adrenaline high imagine, and she's still able to think. A colour, a light, brings with it peace like she's never known, a calmness that she wants to hold onto forever. She could stay here, in this single second in time, for the rest of her life and she thinks she'd be happy.

It's been, what, two seconds? With her ring charged, and Bette already knows she's hooked. The power of love flows through, becomes a part of her, and she has to wonder how she ever functioned without it. How didn't she notice how empty the universe felt without it? How did she miss the gaping hole in her heart, now filled with violet light?

Carol smiles softly at her. "Hell of a feeling, right?"

Bette sighs. "It's _amazing._ Is it always like this?"

"You get used to it", she says, "but pretty much, yeah. Now all you gotta do is work on _controlling_ it."

Some of her excitement dips away. "What happens after that?"

"Whatever you want."

"And... if I don't know what that is?"

"You'll figure it out", Carol says, confident in her words as she links their arms. "Everybody does."

Bette allows herself to be pulled away from the Central Power Battery, offering it one last glance as doubt swells within her. 

She loves every part of being a Star Sapphire that she's seen so far, don't get her wrong, but... maybe the ring got it wrong. So many people keep on saying that she's not hero material, that she never will be, so how's she supposed to manage this? She couldn't gain the respect of anyone when she was just one of Earth's numerous vigilantes, but now she's expected to, what? Use the power of love to help the _universe?_

She is _seriously_ out of her depth here.

* * *

As a general rule, Bette tries not to get too frustrated with things. She's had to learn patience the hard way, put through a series of gruelling tests, months upon months of training, by her former mentor before she was even allowed to consider putting on a mask. She's dealt with Batman, put up with a myriad of snide comments, and she's done it all with grace.

With that being said... she thinks she might go insane if she doesn't do _something_ with her ring. She's been trying for days and she can't make a single construct, hasn't been able to hover so much an inch above the ground, let alone fly, and that's with Carol training her.

Yrra took a much more... violent approach, that left Bette with her arm in a sling (a sling that had to made by someone else which is just awkward) and still no further to getting her ring to work.

She can feel the energy inside of it, inside of her, at all times, but it's like there's an invisible wall between her and that power. She can't use it to shape a single construct, can't manage to lift her feet off the ground and soar into the air. Her ring is working on autopilot, offering her an artificial atmosphere and a universal translator, but according to Carol, those are the base functions. The ones that don't require any thought to power them.

"Okay, just stop", Carol orders. "This isn't working."

Bette glowers at the ring on her ring. "I don't get why it doesn't work! I'm doing everything you said... nothing's working!"

Carol pauses. "What do you love?"

"You mean, like, hobbies?" Bette asks, her nose scrunched up in confusion.

She shakes her head. "No. What do you _love?"_

"My family", she answers immediately. "Bruce and Kate. Gar, Matt, the others... um, tennis."

"Did you love what you did before you came here?" Carol asks. "The... _cosplaying?"_

She swallows back a lump in her throat. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. It was... everything to me."

"Then focus on that", Carol instructs. "Remember how it made you feel."

Bette nods, closing her eyes. It's not hard to imagine that's back in Gotham or LA, running across the rooftops with the wind in her hair. It feels like she knows both cities inside out at this point, Gotham in particularly, and if she really focuses, she can remember how it sounded, how it smelt, the way her stomach would lurch when the ground under her disappeared, that single moment between leaping from one building and landing on the other.

It's falling, the ground plummeting to meet her, but in those wonderful few seconds, it feels a lot like flying. Just this time, without anyone's arms around her, without the assistance of Charley or Hank. For the shortest of times, it's just her and the sky, a million possibilities at her fingertips.

Then she's jolted out of it suddenly, memories of broad wings, dangerous anger and falling buildings stopping her in her tracks.

Carol frowns when her eyes snap back open, but she doesn't comment on it, something Bette is grateful for.

"We've got a Green Lantern coming by tomorrow", she says. "We'll pick up training once they've left."

"Which one is it?" Bette asks, trying to dislodge the disappointment in her stomach. Much like everything else, she's managed to fail at this, to complete squander her chance, Carol is being nice now, sure, but how much longer until she gets fed up? Until Bette is sent packing back to Earth? If her own family got tired of training her after only a few weeks, she can only imagine how far Carol's patience is going to stretch.

And the problem is, Bette isn't entirely sure she wants to go home. Not yet, at least, because she does miss the people back there... she just likes the anonymity that Zamaron provides her. There's no legacy wrapped around her throat like a noose, no history to haunt her. She's just Bette, the new Star Sapphire with a killer right hook.

She isn't compared to anyone, told that she isn't taking it seriously. Everyone from Carol to Yrra is patient with her, not snapping if she doesn't pick something up immediately if she finds a different method that suits her more. She's allowed to breathe here and even though she has to go back to Earth at some point, she can't help wanting to draw out her experience in space.

She'll be forced to leave once they realize that this is utterly pointless, that she isn't meant to be a Star Sapphire. She should probably tell them that now, stop wasting their time, but it's just so _nice._

It can wait. She can put it off until the Green Lantern gets here, because at least that way, she'll have a way home right in front of her. She can give herself at least one more night here, surrounded by the violet light of love, kept warm in its soft embrace.

"I'm not sure what Lantern they're sending", Carol tells her. "It was supposed to be Hal, but there were problems over at Thanagar he had to take care of. It'll probably be one of the rookies, though."

"Oh. So not one of the Earth ones?"

"Not likely", she says. "They're all usually pretty busy with universe ending events."

"Sounds rough."

"It's what they love"< she replies, as if it could ever be that simple. "I don't think any of them could give it up."

"Could you?" Bette blurts out.

Carol stares at her ring with a sad smile. "Once upon a time, giving it up was all I wanted. The Star Sapphire controlled me, not the other way around, and it was like I was trapped in a living nightmare."

"But now...?"

"Now I'm the one in control", she says. "I'm the pilot. And I can't imagine my life without the ring."

Bette twists the one on her finger. "You don't regret it then."

"Not anymore", she confesses. "What about you? Are you gonna keep it?"

"I can't get it to work", she says. "Not much point if I can't make it do anything."

Carol purses her lips. "Don't give up just yet."

"I don't plan to", Bette replies, and she's surprised at the sliver of truth that hides in the words. Because, the thing is, she might not think she's _meant_ for this, but that doesn't mean she doesn't _want_ to be. She never dreamt of space as a child, far too caught up in Gotham's vigilantes, but she's always understood the appeal. The stars, the planets, the infinite space... to a girl that always flitted from one interest to another, who was cast from house to house, the idea of endless freedom, an unending universe to explore, could be more than a little interesting.

Zamaron alone is amazing, but she wants to visit all the other worlds out there. Carol mentioned Thanagar, and Bette could see herself going there someday,. Charley had always wanted to, to investigate the Nth metal his suit was made of, even if he never got the chance. She could go, living up in a way to his promise that he'd take her to the stars.

She could bring Gar here, Bette thinks, as she returns to the small apartment that now belongs to her. He'd love it, she's sure of it.

If she could get this ring to work, she'd have a billion different scenarios to live out, a million choices laid before her. She would never have to sacrifice who she is, would always be able to be the hero she was born to be, but this time, she'd be backed by people who have only ever believed in her.

Don't get her wrong, she adores Gar and the rest of Titans West... but that doesn't mean they've always had her back. They do now, she gets that, but she can't forget the times that they didn't, the moments where she was written off as a nobody.

And while she's sure that Bruce and Kate love her, they've also been _questionable_ in their support. Kate said it herself, she doesn't think that Bette has what it takes. She may not know what had prompted it, but she's a little convinced that her cousin meant every word she said to her that night.

She's been doing her best to put off thinking about that night as a whole. The scar has started to heal, helped along by the light of love, but sits still there, still visible, and Bette doesn't see that ever-changing. It's a long, a jagged cut that goes from her sternum to her hip. Every time she looks at it, she thinks that it's a miracle she even _survived._

She should be dead. The thought hits her as she collapses on her bed, exhausted from the day's training. She, Mary Elisabeth Kane, should have bled to death in a random alley, alone, rejected, living out the story of her life. She doesn't truly understand why the ring picked her, why she wasn't just left there. It didn't have much to gain from saving her, only a pathetic excuse at a superhero who still can't get the voice of her tormenter out of her head.

The Hook feels like a looming presence over her head. She'll wake in the middle of the night, her scar itching, and she'll swear she can feel something moving inside her, ripping her organs apart again. It's like snakes in her gut, writhing, seething, tearing her apart from the inside, but when she places her hand against her stomach, she feels nothing but her own cool skin.

It's a symptom of her trauma, she can admit this. It's happened before, like when she was convinced that her hands were stained with red, where she would rub them raw, just trying to get that crimson liquid off them. And just like that, it'll pass. Maybe it'll take some time, but eventually, she'll start to move on. She'll make it past this and put on a brave face, pretending that she was never hurt in the first place.

She's going to have to do that when she gets back to Earth. Every single member of her family has a guilt complex working away, and if Kate finds out that she almost died, she's going to blame herself. 

Right now, she's hoping that her cousin thinks she's just taken some time to process things, given her a little space. It'd hardly be the first time that she's up and left without warning and at least this time, there's a clear reason behind it.

Gar, maybe the others from Titans LA, might worry, but Bette's willing to Bette that Dick will have heard about her and Kate's argument, and he'll be able to pass it onto Gar. He'll be able to join everyone else in thinking that she's just gone off the radar for a while to recollect her thoughts, that she'll turn back up when she's ready.

She's gonna need to come up with a cover story, though, fake some documents to prove where she was. Not that many, just enough to pass a quick check over by Batman. She doubts it'd hold up under Oracle's scrutinizing eye, but nobody would calling in Babs to verify something they already know. They wouldn't waste her time like that.

In situations like this, it's probably for the best that Bette is a low priority for the people in her life. Oh, they care about her, she doesn't doubt that, she just knows that she isn't that high up in the list of people they love.

And why would she be? She's the wannabe superhero and, now, the apparently failed Star Sapphire.

Nothing about that really screams _lovable_ to her.

* * *

Ghia'ta watches from the sidelines, a little too gleeful, as Bette gets herself blasted into a wall by one of Yrra's assaults. She's up on her feet before any more damage can be done, rolling out of the way of another hit, barely managing to escape unscathed.

And she _adores_ every second of it.

Bette has trained with some exceptionally good fighters over the years, fought even better ones. She's managed to hold her own against Deathstroke the Terminator, trained with the Batman himself, but Yrra is a whole different ball game. It could be the addition of the ring, the constructs sent flying her way adding a whole new element to fighting that Bette finds herself craving.

She's never going to understand Bruce. If he had a chance to fight a Lantern, to spar with one, and he didn't take it, then he is an enigma that she will never solve. It adds a different level to a fight, forces her to get more creative with her moves, and she can't even begin to imagine what it would be like if she ever learned how to make constructs of her own.

Knives are tossed her way and Bette has to twist her body to avoid them. She goes for a flip that she's been avoiding attempting, not wanting to agitate her scar, and whole she might not stick the landing, she pulls it off enough that Ghia'ta lets out a little squeal of delight.

She lands on her hand, pushing herself into a spring, and when she comes up, it's to a glowing knife against her throat. It's so close that she can feel the heat radiating off the construct, all that energy focused to form a single object.

"You lasted longer that time", Yrra says.

Bette grins, a little proud of herself. "What can I say? You're a good teacher."

"And I suppose you're not an awful student."

"Oh, wow. High praise indeed."

Yrra smirks. "You still need to work on keeping your guard up."

"What's that supposed to me━━?"

Her sentence gets cut off when Yrra knocks her legs from under her, sending her sprawling to the ground. She looks up at her trainer for a moment, a glare present on her features, before she starts to laugh, a gentle peace overcoming her.

She accepts Yrra's hand, pulling her up from the ground with clasped hands, and her eyes start to widen as a green glow illuminates her fellow star Sapphire, an emerald ball of light drawing closer and closer to them.

Bette faces the newcomer and she's... not what she expected. Yellow skin and bright eyes stare back at her, framed by short blonde hair, but that's not what stands out to her. No, the woman seems familiar. Not like Bette knows her, like she knows _of_ her.

It throws her off a little and 9it takes a nudge from Yrra for her attention to come back down.

"You got a _human",_ the Green Lantern says, a hint of surprise in her voice. "You didn't tell me you got a human."

"She's new", Carol explains, "and I mentioned it to Hal."

"He didn't pass the message on."

She lets out a long-suffering sigh, her lips twitching towards a smile. "Why am I not surprised?"

Bette tilts her head, frowning at the Green Lantern, who moves fluidly through the air to approach her. There's definitely something there, but she can't quite put her finger on it. Bruce would probably tell her to stand back, gather information from observation, and form a theory out of that, but Bruce _isn't here._

It's just Bette, and Bette has always had a much more hands-on approach.

"Arisia", she greets, holding out her hand. "Honour Guard."

Bette takes her hand, shaking it slowly. "Um, Bette. Rookie... have we met before?"

"I don't think so", she says, dropping her hand. "You ever live in New York?"

"For a while."

"Been to Warriors?"

"Once or twice..."

Arisia shoots her some finger guns. "That's probably where you saw me. I stayed with Guy for a while the Corps was... _gone."_

Bette nods, her mouth forming a perfect _oh,_ because, taking away the Green Lantern outfit and glowing green aura... yeah, she's pretty sure this girl was at the Christmas party. She might not have talked to her, but she definitely noticed her. It was practically impossible _not_ to. The skin that glowed in the light, the way her laugh lightening up the atmosphere...

Bette's mature enough to admit that she _may_ have been a little into her.

"It's nice that Earth has a new Star Sapphire", she continues. "Have you met any of the other GLs yet?"

"No", she answers. "Haven't, like, been here long enough."

She shrugs. "I'm sure you will."

"I'd like to."

Arisia smiles, pointing puppy dog eyes towards Carol. "Can I take the new Star Sapphire out? Pretty please?"

Carol folds her arms. "Not a chance."

She pouts even harder. "Why?"

"I can't make constructs", Bette tells her, "or fly... or do, like, anything..."

She tilts her head, confused. "How does that even ━━ it doesn't matter. I promise we'll stay out of trouble!"

"Still not happening", Carol replies. "Bette's staying on Zamaron until we get that ring working."

"Seriously?" She whines, turning to Bette. "Have any of them even taken you flying yet?"

"Arisia", Carol says in a warning tone, "we're playing it safe."

"But ━━"

"I kinda arrived half-dead", Bette admits, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "Like, gutted, missing most of my blood, kinda half dead."

"Your heart stopped twice", Yrra adds, getting a glare from Carol. "What? It's the truth."

She pinches the bridge of her nose. "Bette will be staying here until she's fully healed."

Arisia pauses. "So that means I can take her around Zamaron, right?"

"Could I stop you?"

"Probably not", she grins, grabbing Bette by the arm and encasing her in green light. It's completely different from the violet that she's become accustomed to, more biting. While she feels the energy fo Zamaron in her heart, the green settles into her bones, as comforting as a sword in her hands.

Bette likes it. It's nothing compared to the violet light of the Star Sapphires, but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

It gets a little _more_ enjoyable when they start to rise from the ground, floating upwards into the air. Zamaron is beautiful in general, sloping arches and glowing purple bringing it to life, but it's entirely different when she looks at it from above, a whole new kind of beautiful. She gets why everybody that can fly loves it ━━ it makes whatever world, whatever city, look so much more magical, just hovering high in the air.

There's a yearning in her gut, a want to be able to do this by herself. The concept of going flying whenever she wants, wherever she wants... she'd do anything for it.

"You'll be able to do this by yourself soon", Arisia says conversationally as she pulls them across the skyline.

"I'm not so sure of that."

She gives her a quizzical look. "Just because you're having trouble with the ring now, doesn't mean you always will."

She twists said ring, scraping it against her finger. "I don't see Green Lanterns failing to make constructs."

"Some have", Arisia tells her. "It takes time and practice, but soon, it's like second nature."

"Sounds nice."

"You'll understand some day", she says. "You're human, right? And humans... you _always_ make great Lanterns, no matter what colour."

Bette tries for a smile, sure she comes out with a grimace. "I really don't think I'm anything like Carol, or the Green Lanterns."

"The ring chose you", Arisia says firmly, leaving no room for argument. "That means you're meant to use it. Yeah, maybe you'll struggle, but that doesn't mean this isn't your destiny."

Bette flinches at the word and hides it behind a laugh. "I don't know about that."

"Well, I do, so you're just gonna have to trust me."

 _"If_ I got the ring working", Bette says, stressing the first word, "what do I even do?"

"Help people. Save worlds. Maybe even the universe every once in a while."

Bette lets out a wistful sigh. How is it that the Star Sapphires are everything she wants _and_ everything she can't be? All she's wanted, ever since she was ta kid and swooping in to save Gotham's vigilantes, was to help people, to make the world a better place, and every time, without fail, it ends in disaster.

She'd love to save the universe, to go around rescuing worlds in the name of love, but she doesn't think she's cut out for it. What was it that Kate had said? That she didn't have what it takes? That's never felt more true than right now.

She's not made for this. Her own family keeps on insisting as much. First, it was Bruce, then Dick, and now Kate.. all of them convinced that she was never meant for a life in a costume, that she was supposed to be something, _anything_ else.

(But if that's true, then why doesn't her future reflect it? Why, _why_ does the Batwoman of Tomorrow keep on cropping up? Why doesn't she stay buried?)

Arisia sets them down on one of the tallest buildings, sitting on the very edge and inviting Bette to be next to her. "Why do you think you can't be a Star Sapphire?"

"What do you mean?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "You seem so convinced that you could never be one. I'm just wondering why that is."

"I... I couldn't do my old job back on Earth", Bette says. "I tried and I almost _died._ And it was ━━ it shouldn't have happened. If I was any good, it wouldn't have happened. And if I can't manage something simple as not dying, then what kind of Sapphire am I supposed to be?"

"Whatever kind you", she says easily. "You know that I died once?"

"I... I didn't."

She nods, fiddling with the fabric of her mini skirt. "Got in a fight with a villain that I hadn't even heard of before and he snapped my neck. I got brought back but I was... they gave me a funeral."

"I'm sorry", Bette says, meaning it. "I've known... I've heard of people who came back."

Arisia throws her head back, taking in a deep breathe of air. "It's not fun, but I didn't let it stop me. I get that you might be having doubts, but everybody makes mistakes. It's your job to _learn_ from that."

"And you think I can."

"I know it", she smiles. "Now close your eyes think of... think of your favourite place."

"Okay...?" She says, allowing Arisia to tell her to her feet.

"You're alone", Arisia says. "Just you."

Bette nods. She knows what her favourite place is ━━ an empty tennis court, just her and the racket. It's easy to imagine that she's alone there, breathing it all in. She always used to go to the courts before a match, get used to it before she had to play. It's simple to picture her own private sanctuary in her mind, to remember that familiar fizzle in her veins that came right before she was supposed to square off against an opponent.

"You got it your head?" Arisia asks, and Bette responds with a shake of her head. "Good. I want you to keep it in mind, okay? Hold onto the feeling."

"Hold onto the feeling", Bette echoes. "I can do that."

"Good. Keep it up and remember, I'm not going to catch you."

Bette pauses. "Catch me?"

"I have complete and utter faith in you", is all Arisia says, before her hands push against Bette's back and shove her off the edge of the building.

She's freefalling instantly, the wind whipping through her hair, and ━━

And it reminds her of Gotham, of leaping from one building to another. It reminds her of being a child again, before things got serious, before the people she loved started dropping like flies. She can remember how her original mask felt, the squeak of her boots against concrete. She can remember hot chocolate after patrol, warm hugs and soft words of praise. She can remember her aunt, remember the safety and happiness that came along with her presence, the type that's been absent for years.

It takes her back to the time she knew she was loved and before she can even recognize what's happening, the sensation of falling comes to a grinding halt.

She opens her eyes cautiously, half expecting to be dead, but she finds herself suspended in midair, violet light wrapping around her. There's no Yrra or Carol, no Ghia'ta in the corner ━━ it's _her,_ she realizes. She's the one powering the ring, she's the one _flying_ in the air.

Bette lets out a little whoop, and soars upwards to meet Arisia, who looks entirely too smug. She's sure she'd care, if she wasn't so enraptured with the sensation of flying on her own. There's nobody else in involved just her, her own power. 

And it's not being done out of necessity. There's nothing saying the universe will end, people will die, if she doesn't do it. It's not a tool to rush from one place to another; it's something she's doing because it's _fun._

She doesn't think ━━ no, she _knows_ that she can't give this up. Maybe, maybe there are better people out there, who would be so much more suited to it... but Bette's addicted to it, to the energy that crackles around her body, to the warmth that spreads through her.

She couldn't let this go if she tried.

"I knew you could do it", Arisia praises. Her voice is warm, carrying the same upbeat energy she has, and it takes all of Bette's self-control not to smile. "All you needed was the right incentive."

"Did you really have to throw me off a building?" She asks, trying to at least _act_ like she's mad. "I could've died."

"I would've caught you."

"That's not what you said."

"You needed to think you were in danger", she grins. "Worked, didn't it?"

"You're insane."

"Just copying how I was taught", she says. "Got scared of flying, so Katma pushed me from the highest building on Oa."

"That's... _why?"_

"Hey, it worked, and that's all that matters", she chirps. "And you can fly! Now we just need to work on your constructs..."

"I might get somebody else to help me out there", Bette decides. Flying is great, the most amazing experience of her life... but she's not exactly eager to discover how Arisia would motivate her into making constructs. She's also not sure she'd _survive_ the experience.

Arisia looks like a kicked puppy, but Bette holds her resolve. She is not going to be attacked by a swarm of whatever Arisia's imagination concoct, not when she's just learned how to fly. She'd much rather work on that, go soaring through the air and worry about making things out of hard light later.

"I guess that's fair", Arisia concedes, letting out a dramatic sigh. "It's a shame ━━ I had so many ideas!"

"And I refuse to entertain any of them", Bette says, fighting a grin of her own, _"but_ once I'm allowed out in the field, we're _totally_ teaming up."

She smiles like the sun, rushing over to wrap her in a bone-crushing hug. "I'll hold you to that, Star Sapphire."

The name sends a shiver of delight running down Bette's spine and any attempt to stop the grin forming on her lips has officially been abandoned. She can't help it; the idea of being a Star Sapphire is too exhilarating, too full of potential for her to do anything else.

"You'd better, Green Lantern."

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a little longer than the last part... but to be fair, a lot more is happening & I also like writing long things I'm weird. Having Bette be on Zamaron was fun & getting her used to her ring, even more so. I did want to have an Earth Lantern show up, but Arisia worked way better, so we get my girl instead. She just fit into the story a lot better -- thought some Earth Lanterns are gonna show up soon.
> 
> Not, like, immediately, though, because!!! We're going back to Earth for the next part. I'm hoping it'll be out sooner since I already have about... 5ish thousand words down? Eh, it's gonna be another long one, but you get a lot of different characters showing up.
> 
> Please spare a comment, this monster took forever.


End file.
